7 Details About Z Nation From Fan Expo

August 29, 2014

Eleni

fan expo

Fridays 10e 7p

“It’s called ‘zee’ nation, not ‘zed’ nation,” specified Z Nation star Tom Everett Scott near the end of his show’s Fan Expo panel this afternoon. Testy words for a crowd of Canadians! In addition to pronunciation lessons, Scott and Z Nation co-creator/co-writer/co-producer Craig Engler filled us in on their new road-trip zombie series, which premieres September 12 on Space. The premise? Three years after a devastating zombie outbreak, a group of zombo-pocalypse stragglers must transport the world’s lone survivor of a zombie bite across America, in the hopes that a West Coast lab might turn his blood into a vaccine. Not entirely unlike The Last Ship—but in this case with brain-drooling zombies.

Here are some more of the details that were revealed in today’s panel that was moderated by InnerSpace’s Teddy and Morgan.

1. The zombies are fast and slow

“If you were a big, badass person in life and you die, you are a big, badass zombie,” Engler explained. Apparently, in Z Nation, zombies aren’t one-size-fits-all, but rather come in all shapes, strengths, and speeds. “We have walking zombies, we have running zombies, and we have crawling zombies,” he added.

2. The Z Nation zombies are George A. Romero–style zombies

At one point, Engler mentioned that he doesn’t consider In the Flesh or The Returned to really be zombie shows. Z Nation zombies are classic zombies, meaning they follow the protocol—and aesthetic—of George A. Romero’s seminal brain-snackers. “For me, the Romero rules were sacrosanct,” said Engler.

3. We might learn the genesis of the zombie outbreak

Maybe. Who can say? Scott and Engler definitely can’t.

4. The zombies aren’t the only threat

As they travel across America, the Z Nation heroes encounter pockets of uninfected humans—small communities that have avoided the virus and banded together. But that doesn’t mean they play nice. “A lot of times, the main characters find that the humans are more dangerous than the zombies,” Scott teased.

5. Expect lots of plot

The one contemporary show Engler actually considers a zombie show is The Walking Dead—but don’t expect the same methodical vibe. “We go through more plot in an episode than they do in a season,” he said.

6. You can follow a Z Nation character on twitter

Although most of the Z Nation action happens in the United States, there is one character, called Citizen Z, who was in the Arctic when the outbreak happened, avoided the carnage, and is now basically chilling up north with unlimited power and food—and access to satellite feeds of the chaos happening everywhere else. (Again, shades of The Last Ship?) Fun plus: you can follow him on Twitter @CitizenZNation.

7. Zombies are puppies

The Z Nation series premiere is called “Puppies and Kittens.” So one fan asked—understandably—whether the episode would, in fact, feature puppies and/or kittens. The answer is yes: if your code word for zombies is puppies and/or kittens. Which it is for the sentient, non-infected humans in Z Nation.

Don’t miss the series premiere of Z Nation on Friday, September 12 at 9e 6p on Space. Until then, check out some snazzy pics from the panel!